Let’s be honest. Many of you who are online a lot have probably heard of Essena O’Neill and how she quit her instagram modelling account and came clean about the back deals with companies to promote brands.  There’s a whole lot of controversy over whether it’s real or a hoax, as well as general other thoughts about the validity of instagram/social media accounts.
I just wanted to weigh in on one of the major issues: the idea that creatives – models, photographers, bloggers, actors, etc. etc. – should work for free or for exposure is ridiculous. It’s frankly insulting. You wouldn’t ask your hair dresser to cut your hair ‘for exposure.’

I get asked all the time by small start ups, big businesses, and everything in between to create a blog post for them that “they will promote on their social media platforms;” so, ‘for exposure.’  I always turn them down. For several reasons.

1. It’s unfair to the other brands and advertisers I work with to give them a different deal.

2. I am an artist with a family, and therefore I not only have bills, but also when given the choice of working for free to promote your company, or playing with my daughter….guess which one I’m going to choose?

The biggest argument I get is that they are a small company with a tiny advertising budget so there’s no money being offered for the post. My thought is always, “Wow! ‘Cause I’m a huge blog with tons of income and endless resources right?!?” *that was sarcasm by the way – ModaMama is a small blog in comparison to everything out there with a fantastically loyal readership – thank you by the way! I’d like to think that has something to do with my wit and honesty, but who knows*

3. Lastly, yes I do want to make money of my blog when possible. But guess what?  I like to consider myself an honest person, and when I promote a service/brand I want it to be one that I genuinely use and enjoy. So yeah, I have affiliate links to stores that I shop at myself and that I love, so promoting them and monetizing that connection is not an issue for me. If I love a brand, why wouldn’t I want to work with them?  *p.s. I’m honest with you guys about it with making disclosures and writing c/o*

So yeah, I love writing my blog. And I love sharing my thoughts, and I do that for myself for free. But given the choice of writing a feature on some company/product I don’t know ‘for exposure’, and writing whatever the hell I want to…I’m gonna go with writing whatever the hell I want to…’cause you know, hundreds of people die of exposure every year.

Dress – Ruche  //  Cardigan – ThreadSence  //  Hat & Socks – FreePeople  //  Sunnies – F21  //  Necklace – TopShop  //  Boots – Aldo  //  Rings – heirlooms and misc.